Welcome to 2023; Updates and stuff
It’s hard to believe this is our 24th year providing the best, most complete dedicated youth soccer tournament software available! It seems only yesterday we were figuring out how to bring real-time scoring to tournaments, Now, it all seems so commonplace, but this software really is nothing short of awesome!
We are in the process of making our third major redesign to the front end UI/UX to be released hopefully this Fall, definitely by the 2024 season. I know, I’m as impatient to release it as you are to see it, but websites sure did get a lot more complicated since the last time we redesigned stuff and we want to make sure it is solid. (We are not going to redesign the back admin area UI, so this will all stay familiar to you… no re-training, no forced re-learning… but the underlying codebase will be sped up.)
In order to make sure we have the resources dedicated to the redesign, we are placing a soft freeze on releasing new features through 2023, except for major bug fixes and security issues. If you have suggestions for features you’d like to see, please keep sending them in, though! I promise, we want to hear from you as the best ideas come from the front lines.
Inflation
Inflation is hitting everyone hard and soccer tournaments are no exception. Don’t worry; we are not increasing your per team fees this year! But we are making some adjustments you should be aware of.
Sometimes the costs of providing software can look invisible, but we are not immune from cost increases. For example, Google doubled the cost of their Workspace (email) while limiting a lot of functionality and will be raising costs again mid-2023. Maps are now charged based on traffic (a soccer tournament generates a lot of traffic to maps!) Every website now pretty much requires an SSL cert (the https part of your web address) which costs money and energy prices are causing data center (cloud servers) costs to increase. These are just some of the cost increases we have been absorbing the past several years.
Add a pandemic in the mix and things start getting a bit… tight. Fortunately, TourneyCentral was well-positioned to weather all of this. But as of January 1, 2023, we increased our rate to $16.00/participating team.
If you are a tournament that has been active in 2022 and renew in 2023 or signed up before Jan 2023, your rate for 2023 will not increase. However, in 2024, you should budget an increase to the new rate. (Legacy events that have been with us since our inception will not see an increase. You know who you are from your invoicing.)
Domains
If your domain will renew throughout 2023, we will continue to renew and support it through Dec 31, 2023, after which we will allow it to expire unless you claim it. Your tournament website will then only be https://[event][dot]tourneycentral[dot]com
You will start seeing a flag about your domain status in the Messages area above your Admin Modules when you log in. You should have a plan a few months before your domain needs to be renewed. Please, please make sure you request a transfer before it expires. Please. If you allow your domain to expire, we can not help you get it back. For real. No, really-real!
To claim your domain, you should set up a GoDaddy account and request that we transfer your domain into it. After you own it, you should set the DNS to redirect to your tourneycentral.com address or set up a microsite on your club site, with a link to your tournament site.
We are here to need help with any of this. Just ask.
(If you already own and manage your domain, you don’t have to do anything. If you would would rather Rivershark continue to manage your domain beginning 2024 for a nominal fee, we can certainly do that for you. Just holler.)
Google Analytics
Google is discontinuing Universal Analytics as of June 2023. If you have a UA account entered in your Website Maint Module>Variables, you should also enter your G4 account in the field next to the UA field so that you will generate Analytics data. Even if you don’t currently use UA, you may want to set up G4. It collects a lot more data than we do internally. This data can help you secure sponsors/advertisers and demonstrate the value of your event to local municipalities and organizations.
From the Google Documentation:
On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data. You’ll be able to see your Universal Analytics reports for a period of time after July 1, 2023. However, new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4 properties.
Paying your invoices
Lastly, the pandemic and subsequent rebuilding years hit the soccer tournament market hard and TourneyCentral has been a bit flexible with on-time invoices to help out. Congratulations on surviving one of the biggest “storms” to have hit soccer in decades.
But we’re past this challenge. We’ve all figured it out together.
As of December 2022, we now provide a link in your Admin Messages Modules that allows you to use a credit card to pay your invoices, with a 3% convenience fee. If you have a treasurer or AP person who handles the invoices, you can set up a sub-user account that has access to the invoice links, so they can pay the invoice directly. After you set up the user, edit their login and check “Invoice View Override” and save changes. Send them their PIN and password.
We have also built in some tools that allow us to limit the use of the Admin Modules on a late invoice. If the COMMITMENT FEE is more than 30 days overdue OR the PRODUCTION FEE is not paid within a day of the starting day of the event, this will toggle on automatically. You will be able to log in, see your modules, but all the GO! buttons, etc will be deactivated. (This is different from the pink-ish “gentle nudge” banner you may have seen if an invoice is due within seven days of your event. The deactivation banner will be a bright red.)
When you pay with a credit card, this hold will be released immediately. If your tournament event pays only with a cheque, you should plan mailing time so this will not affect your crew for entering scores, emailing teams, etc. The public side of your website will not be affected.
We post cheques as soon as we receive them, so the easiest way to know if you have an outstanding invoice is if it appears in your Admin Messages Module. The USPS has been challenged the past few years, so if you feel a remittance has been lost or severly delayed, please notify us.
In 2024, we plan on being entirely paperless and hopefully be able to take credit cards for all our invoices. We realize a lot of events are using paper and online banking cheques to pay, and we will work with you as needed.
Other stuff
I’m sure there are other things, but that’s pretty much all I have for you today. Nobody really likes change, but sometimes we have to. As always, we try to make sure your event experience is disrupted as little as possible while providing as much value and notice as we can.
If you are already set up for 2023 team applications, awesome and here’s hoping your tournament event is successful.
If you have not yet rolled your 2022 event forward to 2023, you may want to consider it as soon as possible. Every year, clubs and teams seem to make tournament choices earlier and earlier.